Random Ramsdom: Aaron Donald seemed to be enjoying the 49ers loss

Los Angeles Rams News and Links for 1/31/23

Aaron Donald appeared to troll 49ers during their lopsided loss to Eagles (RamsWire)

“The Los Angeles Rams weren’t playing in the NFC Championship Game this year, but their fans were collectively rooting for one team: the Eagles. In fact, Rams fans were rooting for every team that faced the 49ers this postseason.

Aaron Donald was probably right there with them. Donald has previously said that he doesn’t “like the Niners at all,” saying he has “no love” for them whatsoever. And on Sunday afternoon while they were getting blown out by the Eagles, Donald made his feelings pretty clear again as San Francisco was defeated, 31-7.”

Rob Gronkowski feels Rams should give Tyler Higbee more opportunities (RamsWire)

“Rob Gronkowski knows a bit about playing tight end and while he feels the Rams could give Higbee more opportunities, he also wants to see him play more consistently.

“He can definitely move. He can zig-and-zag. He can get open. I would say with him, though, it’s just a little bit more consistency,” Gronkowski told Heavy.com. “There’s some games where he has breakout games and then there’s some games where you don’t really hear about him and he’s not making that many plays. I’m not sure if it’s the offensive system that he’s in and not really getting that many opportunities but when you see a guy like him making those plays that he can make, I feel like you should give him more opportunities.”

NFL salary cap skyrockets, but will it help LA Rams this offseason? (RamblinFan)

Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

“Per Spotrac.com, the LA Rams are projected, currently, to face a 2023 payroll of over $240 million. That means that, despite the cap increase, the LA Rams are projected to come up short. Right now, the deficit for the LA Rams is projected to come in at just over (-$15 million).

Of course, the LA Rams are generally over the cap at this time each year, and to be honest, a $15 million shortfall seems like a drop in the bucket compared to recent years at this time. So how will the Rams get money freed up?

The top eight paid players on the Rams roster make up 75 percent of the team’s 2023 salary cap. Among those players are WR Allen Robinson and OT Joseph Noteboom, two players who are prime targets to renegotiate their contracts as neither player delivered up to expectations.”

Jalen Ramsey named to 2023 Pro Bowl Games (TheRams.com)

Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images

“The Los Angeles Rams defensive back on Monday was named to the 2023 Pro Bowl games, replacing Eagles cornerback Darius Slay after Philadelphia advanced to Super Bowl LVII on Sunday.

Overall, it marks the sixth-straight Pro Bowl selection for Ramsey, continuing a streak that began in his second NFL season.

The seven-year pro concluded the 2022 season with a career-high tying four interceptions – the second-consecutive year he’s hit that mark – plus career-bests of 88 total tackles and 18 pass breakups while starting in all 17 games. He also registered two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and his first two sacks of his NFL career.”

Found this draft data interesting as LA Rams head for 2023 NFL Draft (RamblnFan)

“The LA Rams may not make any selections in the first round of the NFL Draft, but to hear NFL pundits talk about that decision, the Rams’ front office is just leaving money on the table. So when I noticed a bit of NFL Draft result analytics appear on my timeline from non-other than Kent Lee Platte (a.k.a. @Mathbomb on Twitter), I sat up and paid attention.

The NFL Draft is no more certain of hitting on a rookie prospect than hitting a winner on a scratch ticket. And you might think that, with an army of NFL scouts, data analysts, personnel executives, and sports medicine expertise, all interconnected in the modern NFL era, that swinging and missing on a draft pick would be, well, few and far between.

So when I reviewed the data presented by Platte regarding the Top-5 selections in the draft, I was fascinated to see what that presentation revealed. While the use of “Pro Bowlers” is a crude correspondence to hitting on a Top-5 pick, the data is of enough relevance to lead to some rough conclusions.”